How Learning English Will Boost Your Career

Most of us know the saying, “Time is money.” But did you know that language is money too? 

Research from around the world reveals that foreign language speakers enjoy higher salaries.

So if you’ve ever wondered whether foreign languages, especially English, could help your career, the answer is a firm “YES.” 

Whether you’re an accountant or a piano teacher, whether you plan on working abroad or never leaving your country, English can play a huge role in your career. 

And we're going to show you how.

English Unlocks International Opportunities

Nowadays, you don’t need to relocate to get a job abroad. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies have started letting their employees work from home. Some such as Twitter, are even going remote for the indefinite future.

Many of these companies are also hiring new employees regardless of location. This means that you can now work for top companies around the world from the comfort of your home.

And even before the COVID-19 pandemic, English language skills allowed many professionals — from freelance illustrators to web developers — to find remote work opportunities.

So if your job can be done remotely, chances are, there are a lot of opportunities out there  — as long as your business English communication skills are good enough to open these doors.

English Unlocks Opportunities In Your Country

As an English tutoring company, we’ve had many students in fields from pharmaceuticals to education who wanted to become more competitive in their local job market. 

For example, as a Brazilian student of ours shared, “It’s common to hear about unqualified people who were promoted just for having a good level of English and on the other hand, amazing professionals who were not, because they didn't have the English skills. English has become something every company asks for even if they don’t actually need it.”

As research also suggests, it’s difficult to be promoted to a managerial position in Latin America unless you have English skills.

Of course, this doesn’t just apply to Latin America or big global corporations. These days, international trade is 25% of the world economy, so even small and medium-sized companies also need English-speaking workers if they want to develop business opportunities abroad.

Lastly, many careers not related to trade will also get a boost from English skills. Here are some examples:

  • If you speak English, you can teach online classes in your field of expertise, whether that’s music, arts, or cooking. You can even teach your own language to others!
  • If you’re a therapist who speaks English, you can have clients from different countries. A famous example is Ester Perel, who is originally from Belgium but helps clients from around the world.
  • If you’re an accountant who speaks English, you can take the US CPA licensing exam. Upon passing, the license not only allows you to work as an accountant in eight countries, but also gives you a competitive edge when applying to foreign companies in your country.

English Enables You to Stay Up-to-Date

Finally, whether you work in design or biotech, you’ll need English to keep up with the latest developments in your field. 

For instance, some of our students who are engineers tell us that they don’t need English for work, but they do need it to attend conferences and look up information on new technologies.

This may explain why there is a strong correlation between English skills and innovation in many countries. After all, innovation relies increasingly on collaboration between people from different parts of the world, and English is a basic necessity for such collaborations.